Tune in for Jamie Gangel’s full interview with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Anderson Cooper 360 at 8 p.m. ET.
CNN
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, both said President Joe Biden should seek reelection in 2024 after what they described as an “excellent” first two years in office.
The Democratic congressional leaders’ comments came in their first joint sit-down interview with CNN’s Jamie Gangel over lunch at Hunan Dynasty, a Chinese restaurant on Capitol Hill in Washington, where the two have shared meals for years.
Pelosi said Biden, who at 80 is already the nation’s oldest president, has “done an excellent job” in the White House.
“I hope that he does seek reelection. He’s a person with great vision for our country. He’s been involved for a long time so he has great knowledge of the issues, and the challenges we face,” she said.
Pelosi also said Biden is “the most empathetic president. He connects with people.”
“The vision, the knowledge, the strategic thinking is all here,” she said, pointing to her head. “The empathy is from the heart. And I think he’s a great president.”
Asked if Biden should run again, Schumer said: “Yeah. He’s done an excellent, excellent job. And if he runs, I’m going to support him all the way.”
The interview took place less than three weeks before Pelosi steps down as speaker after Republicans won a slim majority in November’s midterm elections. The California Democrat plans to remain in the House, representing her San Francisco district, but is leaving her caucus’s leadership ranks.
Schumer and Pelosi reminisced in the interview about past battles with Donald Trump – and both predicted the former president will lose his third bid for the White House.
“The American people have gotten wise to him. Took a little while, but they did,” Schumer said.
The New York Democrat said Americans watched as pro-Trump rioters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and said voters’ understanding of the “danger to democracy” is partly responsible for Democrats’ stronger-than-expected showing in this year’s midterms.
“I don’t think we should talk about him while we’re eating,” Pelosi said of Trump.
The comments by the Democratic duo come amid the possibility of a Biden-Trump rematch in 2024. Trump has already announced his 2024 candidacy, though he is likely to face a competitive GOP primary; Biden has not made a formal announcement but has long maintained he will seek reelection, saying he will officially decide early next year.
A new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS found little appetite for a rematch between the 2020 rivals. About 6 in 10 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they want their party to nominate someone other than Trump in 2024 (62%), while a similar 59% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say they’d like to see someone other than Biden at the top of their ticket in the next presidential election.
